Nghe An: Abundant Tet goods, purchasing power increases quite a bit
(Baonghean) - Lunar New Year is approaching and the purchasing power of goods is gradually increasing. Nghe An Newspaper interviewed Ms. Vo Thi An - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade about the market situation of supply - demand, prices of some essential food and foodstuffs in early 2018.
PV:Can you give a preliminary assessment of the market price situation in the month before Lunar New Year in the province?
Comrade Vo Thi An:January is the month before Lunar New Year 2018, the commodity market in the province has been bustling, the quantity of goods and purchases increased by about 20% compared to the previous month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2018 increased by nearly 2% compared to December 2017, up 2.58% over the same period.
The main reasons for the CPI increase this month are due to the increase in health examination services at public health facilities in the province according to the roadmap prescribed in Circular 02/2017/TT-BYT, which has pushed the group of medicines and medical services to increase by nearly 22%.
Total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in January 2018 is estimated at VND5,306 billion, up 9.6% compared to January 2017, of which total monthly retail sales of goods is estimated at VND4,344 billion, up 8.97% compared to January 2017.
Thus, according to consumer demand in the months before, during and after Lunar New Year, purchasing power of goods increased by about 30-40% compared to other months.
 |
| Tet goods are sold in abundance on the market. Photo: VP |
Comrade Vo Thi An:Essential consumer goods increased sharply during Tet including food, livestock and poultry meat.
Regarding food, the local consumption demand is about 26,000 tons/month. The main supply for the consumption demand in Vinh city comes from agents, the network of stores of key units and business households in the markets. In rural areas, people mainly consume self-produced rice, accounting for about 40% of the total consumption of the province. In general, the price of rice is stable due to abundant supply. However, before and after Tet, rice prices are forecast to increase slightly, focusing on specialty rice and delicious sticky rice. The increase is insignificant due to the abundant supply of locally produced rice and rice from the South.
Regarding livestock and poultry meat, the consumption demand is about 6,000 tons of live meat/month, and it is expected that during Tet, the demand can reach up to 9,000 tons. The total output of chicken, duck, pork and beef from enterprises, cooperatives and households in the province supplies 10,000 tons of commercial meat/year, meeting most of the meat consumption in the market.
 |
| Price stabilization point of sale in Dien Hong commune, Dien Chau of Nam Long Company. Photo: Viet Phuong |
In addition to essential goods serving people's consumption needs, during the Lunar New Year, consumer demand also focuses on traditional goods such as cakes, candies, soft drinks, etc. About 400 tons of cakes, candies, and other types of candies are consumed during the Tet holiday.
PV:Based on the market situation and actual production and business in the province, to promptly stabilize the market before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2018 in the province, how does the Department of Industry and Trade plan to prepare goods for the Lunar New Year, sir?
Comrade Vo Thi An:In order to promptly stabilize the market before, during and after the Lunar New Year, the Department of Industry and Trade has proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to reserve essential goods for the 2018 Lunar New Year. Accordingly, there are 3 goods to be reserved with a total value of 68.5 billion VND, including: 2,500 tons of rice; 100 tons of sticky rice; 1.2 million liters of cooking oil.
 |
| Market management officers check and control goods circulating on the market. Photo: Viet Phuong |
In addition to the stabilized products delivered, businesses are encouraged to exploit other products to participate in stabilizing the market and create conditions for consumers to have more choices.
In addition to businesses participating in the program receiving interest rate support, the Provincial People's Committee encourages businesses in the area to register to participate in the Program such as BigC supermarket, Mega Market, Intimex, Huong Giang,... distributors, stores, and agents across the province.
7 businesses receive interest support for reserving goods for Tet
(Baonghean.vn) - On December 8, the Provincial People's Committee issued an official dispatch agreeing to the Department of Industry and Trade's request to support bank loan interest rates to purchase 3 reserve goods to serve the 2017 Lunar New Year.
Comrade Vo Thi An:Currently, most localities have price stabilization booths. For the city area - the area with high demand for goods consumption, there are currently 11 price stabilization points of sale; dozens of mobile vehicles selling goods in districts and towns. Recently, we have organized working groups to inspect the preparation of Tet goods to serve the needs of people in 13 districts and towns. Basically, the districts have done quite well in implementing the Directive of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Directive of the Provincial People's Committee on strengthening management and operation to stabilize market prices, ensuring social order and safety during the 2018 Lunar New Year. In the localities, the working groups also inspected a number of gas stations, supermarkets and markets in the area. Thereby, they aimed to check the situation of goods supply during Tet, the roadmap for selling E5 bio-fuel and the public price listing.
Regarding market management at the end of the year, the Department of Industry and Trade noted that the district needs to pay attention to inspection and strictly handle cases of violations of food hygiene and safety, smuggling, trade fraud, especially counterfeit goods, fake goods, and poor quality goods; avoid speculation, hoarding, and hoarding of goods for illegal profit. On this occasion, we also request localities to focus on promoting the campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods".
PV:Thank you, comrade!
